Costa Rica Address

Want a pen pal from Costa Rica? Drop me a note!

Laura Diaz

Instituto de Lengua Española

Apartado 100 - 2350

San José, Costa Rica

América Central

This a post office box and can't be used for UPS or FEDEX.

NOTE:

This is Central America, so expect up to a month-long for mail to arrive. Who knows?

You get bonus points if you write me in Spanish!

(Necesito practicar.)

Next Steps

I have been meditating on Scripture recently, particularly on Psalm 27:14, which says:
"Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!"

This has been a resounding theme in my life, especially in the past two years with teaching in Honduras and returning to the States to finish the UCSB Teacher Education program. I have learned that no matter how God directs our steps, even changing the direction we thought we were going, He remains faithful.

Standing overlooking the ocean and reflecting on how God has richly blessed my time in Santa Barbara, I couldn't help but sing praises to Him.
For the incredible people He placed in my life at just the right moment to encourage and challenge me, for the amazing church body to serve alongside, for professors at Westmont College and my mentors at UCSB, for the opportunities to explore God's creation through hiking or walking along the shoreline, I will always be grateful!

In fact, there have been many instances this year where God provided abundantly more than I could ever ask or imagine. Not only in terms of resources and housing, but also the strength and wisdom to face unpredictable situations in the classroom. God deserves all the glory and honor and praise!!

During my time in Santa Barbara, someone at my church told me, "In order for God to lead you, you have to be willing to step."

Here's an update and next "steps" in my life:
*2010-2011 School year--I taught 4th grade at International School Tegucigalpa. Grew as a teacher in a wonderful school community and fell in love with the adventure of teaching internationally.
*2011 Summer--I returned to Santa Barbara to house/dog-sit and finish preparing my Masters of Education thesis. I presented my Masters of Education on July 5th and, with a few minor revisions, passed!!
*2011 Fall--I worked in a Kindergarten classroom as my last University requirement for the Teacher Education Program. I had an amazing team of teachers to work alongside and grew tremendously as a teacher.
*2011 Winter--On December 9th, I was officially "done" with the UC Santa Barbara Teacher Education Program. A few weeks later I received a letter from the state saying that I now have my Preliminary K-8 Multiple Subject California Teaching Credential!
Praise the Lord! It's been a long journey, but it is worth it in the end!

*2012 January-April--
As I have been praying about what to do with my spring semester, I have felt tugged in multiple ways back to Central America. In November, I applied for fall teaching positions in Christian International Schools in Mexico and Panama and also had the privilege of attending an ACSI recruiting fair in Anaheim, CA to interview and learn more about these possibilities.

Having lived in Honduras and having worked this past semester in a school with a high Latino population, my desire to speak Spanish fluently has increased. I took Spanish for 2 years in high school (way back when!) and learned a lot while teaching in Honduras, yet still can only carry on a basic conversation. If God continues to lead me towards Central American countries, I want to be able to communicate with the people there, as well as share God's truth where it's needed most.

I've been given a gift of time: four months, to devote to learning Spanish, and what better way than to learn it in a country where it is their native tongue! Costa Rica!

I will be attending the Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica for four months, attending the institute for classes and living with a Costa Rican family.

I would greatly appreciate your prayer along this next adventure!
Hasta luego y muchos bendiciones!

Stories from Rm. 17

Story #1: Magic

I’m learning that you never know what to expect, especially in this kindergarten class! And during Language Arts, magic happened! Earlier, I had introduced the International Baccalaureate unit of animals and taught the students a few facts about the Harbor Seal. I wasn’t sure what the kindergarten retention rate of 2 hours would be after hearing the quick facts about the seal during Math time and needing to write about it during Language Arts workshop. But when I asked for a volunteer to share a sentence about the seal, the student who arrived late and refused to participate in the morning, suddenly sat bright-eyed in his chair and whipped his hand up in the air with a huge grin on his face.

Typically, this student’s speech is very hard to understand, a mix of Spanish and English, with a few key animal names marking the pause in his spew of excited words. But today when he raised his hand, out of his mouth came a clear and relevant sentence: “The seal is eating a fish in the water.” I wrote his sentence on the board, beaming, wishing I had my video camera to capture that moment.

Story #2: The Missing Lunch Aide

At 11:50a, the instructional aide strode into the classroom with urgency in her eyes. “Where are the lunches?” Apparently, the lunch lady, who usually picks up/delivers the kindergarten lunches, had not come to school. No one informed the kindergarten teachers of this, so we were all caught by surprise. All right, we’ll roll with the punches; another K teacher and I pushed the cart over to the cafeteria, loaded it up with the food, and steered it back to the kindergarten lunch area. We were just in time, as we could see the students lined up and heading our way. The other teachers and I hurriedly donned plastic gloves and assembled the plates: Hot dog, rice, apple, and carrots. Whew. We started to put out the plates on the tables, when a sea gull swooped down and made off with one of the hot dogs! I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation!

We decided to wait to put out plates until students sat down. But boy, do I have a new appreciation for the lunch aides, between students yelling “I want ketchup!” and “Can you open this?” it’s enough to fluster even the calmest of teachers. We decided to extend lunch 15 more minutes to allow both students and ourselves some semblance of peace before returning to the classroom. And that is why I bring my lunch to school.

Story #3: Losing a Tooth

A student came to me this morning with the exciting news that one of her teeth was lose. I told her to keep wiggling it, and it might come out. Later, she ran over to me at the end of recess time and showed me her tooth, it was hanging on by a thread. “Pull it,” I said, and she made a brave choice and did. As soon as she pulled it out, she looked at her hand, and burst into tears. I said “good job,” and she gave a teary smile. I led the whole class in congratulating her on pulling out her tooth, and sent her with a student escort to the nurse’s office.

A few minutes later, I am leading the class by the nurse’s office to their Winter Sing practice, when this student peeks into the hallway with a worried look on her face. “I lost my tooth,” she says.

I nod my head in agreement, “Yes, you pulled it out yourself. That was very brave.”

“No” she shakes her head, “I lost it!”

My eyebrows rise as I understand what she’s saying, “Oh, you mean, you dropped it?”

“Yeah, somewhere near the nurse’s door.” She points her index finger along the short hallway leading to the nurse’s office.

“Okay, I’ll look, but it’s alright if we don’t find it, because your mom will know you lost your tooth by the empty tooth box around your neck.”

I led my class to music, then returned to scan the area for anything that resembled a baby tooth. The problem was, this was the hallway students trample through when they come directly from the playground. So this little tooth had landed amongst scattered woodchips and little rocks embedded into the tiny cracks in the pavement. Not to mention, all the students’ shoes that tracked through there and could have carried the tooth to another part of school. All that to say, the hunt for the lost tooth was unsuccessful. Fortunately, the student wasn’t too upset, and I told her that now she had a funny story to tell. She could say: “Today I lost a tooth, and then I LOST it!” She laughed and I thought: Next time a student loses a tooth, I’m giving them a bag to carry it in.

Story 4: Mountains and Valleys

Gathered around the sandbox, I gave students very specific directions about what I wanted them to do. One partner needed to push the sand together to make a “mountain” and the other needed to dig a hole/push down the sand next to it to make a “valley.” Then, we would go around and each partner point to their creation and label it mountain or valley. Partners did an excellent job working together to create an extensive mountain range, and they were very excited to share their work with the class.

It was the last student’s turn to point out his or her mountain and valley, and I couldn’t believe his work had lasted for 3 minutes with no one stepping on it. The student ceremonially cleared his throat, “Actually, mine’s a volcano.” I smiled and looked down, and, sure enough, the student had dug a hole straight through the center of his mountain. “Yes, it is; you’ll get to learn about that in 3^rd grade!”

After finishing their sand mountains and valleys, the students returned to the classroom to wash their hands, and I showed them a YouTube clip of “America the Beautiful,” playing against the backdrop of some of America’s most beautiful geography. During the film, I was surprised that the students started singing the song! So I taught them some hand motions as we sang the lyrics, and afterward discussed what they noticed/saw in the video. Their observations were astounding! It was another calm and engaging way to end the day.

Story 5: Hands on Your Head

“Stay in a straight line,” I reminded the students as we walked back through the hallway from Garden. The students responded with showing me their “quiet starfish” hand motion and turning around to follow me, single file. I led the class around a corner, pausing to wait for the rest of the class to catch up and do another head count. As we turned the corner, one of the boys tripped on his shoelace and fell towards the wall. Teaching in kindergarten, I have come to know that untied shoelaces and tripping over them is a common occurrence. I issued words of comforting motivation: “It’s okay. Stand up.”

But as this student stood to his feet I saw his blue, long sleeve shirt covered from shoulder to wrist with tan paint. They had just painted the walls! The walls were freshly coated, and I still needed to get 10 more kids through the “wet zone.”

I needed to think quickly: “Okay, put your hands on your head and don’t touch the walls.” I guided the class as far from the walls as we could stand, but two students got curious and touched the painted student’s arm. “Keep moving, keep moving.” I worked to keep my voice level as I steered the three painted ones to the boy’s bathroom to get off what paint they could. Fortunately, the parents of these students have a good sense of humor, especially when I’m trying to explain what happened in Spanish!

*Bonus: Look what my students taught me! (use picture below as a clue)

Loose Teeth and Bumblebees

In a single day, I've been faced with a homesick child (also a runner), no internet in the computer lab (ad lib), a fight on the playground (get to know the principal in action), a suddenly lost tooth (unrelated to the playground incident) and a bumblebee in our classroom. Oh yeah, did I mention it was International Peace Day?

Ha! In the midst of the chaos, I am reassured of where my peace comes from.

I've read/memorized this verse hundreds of times, but it really takes on new meaning when you're teaching 25 kindergarteners.

Philippians 4:4-7
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Tomorrow

"But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love."

(Listen here: What God Hath Promised,
Full lyrics here: Runyan & Flint, 1919)

Tomorrow is the first day of my student teaching placement in Kindergarten!

Sweet Summertime

So it's been a few months since I've updated the blog. At first, I thought it would stop when I left Honduras and resume when I return. Then I realized that LIFE is an adventure, even if I'm in the U.S. of A...haha.

Here's an update:
1. Returned to the U.S. in late June
2. Ran around like mad trying to revise/print a final copy of my Masters thesis to mail to UCSB
3. Got it in the mail and celebrated with a nice dinner con mis padres.
4. Shifted clothes out of 1 duffel into another, said goodbye and drove down to Santa Barbara
5. Arrived in SB (beautiful as always) to house-sit/dog-sit/plant-sit
6. Tried to train a year old black lab mut...minor successes, but overall fail
7. Realized I never want to have a dog. (no offense, Patches)
8. Prayed about housing..found 2 answers!
9. Served as a VBS teacher for Noah's half day camp..LOVED it!
10. Moved into new room #1, about four doors down from my previous hosts..although much quieter.

In between these transitions, I took time to enjoy summer including:

-the drive-in theater
-Dodger's game (crazy 9th inning, where they won!)
-spending a day as a SB tourist
-SB's Fiesta (complete with Latin music/dancing)
-a visit from my Grandpa, and then going down to Huntington Beach to visit him
-biking/running/reading/writing songs on the beach
-learning how to work an iPhone
-celebrating the 100th birthday of a lady in my church
-reigniting my love for Ultimate Frisbee
-reuniting with old friends and meeting new ones

I'm thankful for this time of relaxation and reflection, the different ways people have (possibly unbeknownst to them) blessed me, and how God has provided again and again exactly what I need. It's like He knows my heart or something.

Someone shared this song with me the other day, and I was immensely encouraged.

In this post college stage, it's easy to get lost in the transitions, in the search for community and meaningful fellowship, but we can remember to "hold on" to God's promises. Remember His character is unalterable, His foundation is secure, and His arms are always open.

Hasta Luego

Hasta luego (see you later): the phrase I finally decided on telling people as we parted ways. Because, really, after my Masters/Credential program is finally completed (expected date: by Oct. or Nov.), I will contact IST and see if there are any job positions for the winter/spring partials. If not this year, then the following fall, I’ll return as a teacher to Honduras to complete the last year of my 2 year contract.

As I leave Tegucigalpa, I have mixed feelings. Though excited, thrilled even, to see family and friends, to regain my independence, and have a world of possibilities at my feet, I am sad to say good-bye to close friends, especially the N.A. teacher community which served as my family for this year.

As I find myself on a plane once again, I remember the flight down to Honduras at the beginning of the year. I was bright eyed and hopeful, surveying the people on the plane, wondering whom I would be teaching with and living daily life with. I reflect on first impressions of people, which seem hilarious in retrospect, now that I actually know the person. I remember how we met up in Tegucigalpa, loaded down with suitcases filled with clothes, school supplie, and precious memories of home that would carry us through the year. How my housemates and I got locked out of our house on the first day we got the key, and it poured rain. And a neighbor offered us fajitas on a paper plate as a gesture of welcome.

That day seems long ago now, even though it’s only 11 months in the past. Over the past year, I have grown closer in trust and proximity with these people.

I was deeply impacted and I would even say changed through these special gringos, sharing a year of living and teaching together:

laughing over first day stories, being squeezed together in a taxi which we finally got a good price for, venturing down the street to the pulperia or buying mangoes from the Fruit Guy, spending Sunday mornings at the same church (almost always followed by lunch and Frisbee), being a shoulder to cry on after regretfully, inevitable muggings, sharing first experiences of seeing the country (Ceiba, Copan, Lago, Yuscaran, Amapala, etc) or others (Guatemala!), learning whom are morning people and whom are definitely NOT by sharing the 6:30a school bus, picking their brains for teaching/classroom advice, pulling out the mattresses for movie night, leaving Loarque to hit the mall/get a granita at the airport/go out to dinner/appetizers, having crazy, costume parties or teacher spelling bees, going to see the opera, sharing anxieties and finding solutions, and sharing in Bible Studies, teacher devotionals, and (my favorite) worship nights hosted in someone’s home.

Thank you to everyone who encouraged, inspired, challenged, and even just walked alongside me this year. Thank you especially to those at home (in the U.S.) who held us in prayer. God taught me many life-changing lessons and helped me begin to see truth amongst injustice, grace amidst discipline, patience amidst frustrations, peace amidst chaos, and His steadfast love and constancy amidst it all.

So, as I move on to what’s next (for now house/pet-sitting in Santa Barbara and presenting the Masters of Education on July 5^th!), I remember that my life is ultimately in God’s hands, that my heart belongs to Him, and my days have a sovereign purpose, that is bigger than anything I could plan for myself. Again, I make a commitment to pray, “Not my will but yours be done Lord.” I’ve realized that this is a dangerous prayer, because as we pray it, not only does God work on our hearts to make our own desires closer to His, but also He stretches us by putting us into situations where we have to completely have faith that His will is best.

I recently heard the song, “Faithful God,” by Laura Story, and I have to echo the lyrics here, as her words have resonated strongly with my experience in Honduras this year:

“Faithful God, every promise kept
Every need You've met, Faithful God
All I am and all I'll ever be
Is all because You love faithfully
Faithful God

May the love that caught my heart to set it free
Be the love that others see in me
And may this hope that's reaches to the depths of human need
Be the song that I sing in joy and suffering”

May we remember God’s faithfulness whenever, wherever, and with whatever He calls us to serve.

The Last Day of 4-B

"Why does school have to end?" were the surprising words out of student's mouth as we wrapped up the school year today.


We had a marvelous day:
-Students acted out a devotional on Solomon asking for wisdom from God; memorized the class verse.(Jer 33:3)
-Class wrote letters to future selves (5th grade)
-Created T-shirt memories, signed t-shirts and a tiger stamp

-Class Awards (funny, because, in the description, everyone knew who the award would go to)

Then, Ms. Castro (my assistant) sat the whole class down in a circle, and called each one up to a chair across from her to share special memories or individual thank-you's with them.
She was spot on with the affirmations of their character and helped to give them a vision and hope for the future. She started getting teary, then the students did, even my toughest boys, then I couldn't help it. For all the crazy times we had together, there will never be a class quite like 4-B. They taught me and stretched me, and I will miss them next year.

Following this, the students presented a hip-hop dance routine, which they had prepared to thank Ms. Castro. It was phenomenal and hilarious. (Videos to come.)
And we showed her a video we had made about what she had meant to us..finishing with the class singing the song, "I've had the time of my life."
It was bittersweet to watch them go.

But then, we joined the P.E. teacher in a class prayer and split up into teams for kickball--my class's favorite sport to play all together! At the end, we came together for a class cheer: 1-2-3...4-B!!
I know they will make fantastic 5th graders next year and am excited for whoever their teacher might be!

As we were stacking up chairs afterwards, a student asked me, "Why does today have to be sad?"

I didn't know quite how to explain it, but I offered: "Because it is the end of something wonderful and the beginning of something new."

God bless 4-B.

No parada

I think I can..I think I can...I think I can!

We were literally chanting the bus up the hill yesterday. It was moving forward, which was good. But it was moving inch..by inch..by inch.

It took at least 3 minutes to pass each house, and we saw the neighborhood watchyman chuckling as it took at least 3 minutes to pass by him. The construction workers stopped to lean on their shovels and stare at the bus full of gringos, roaring its engine and creeping up the hill as if being slowly lured by a greater cause.

My housemates and I sat and surveyed the situation; we quickly came to the conclusion that the bus would never be able to summit the steep incline of our street. But we were going slow enough now, that we could easily just step off the bus. The bus could keep crawling along at this slow rate, dropping off the next set of teachers, as long as it didn’t stop.

“No necesitas parada.” (trying to say: You don’t need to stop.)

Then, we felt the bus lurch, and we were thrown down the aisle towards the door. Everyone groaned. The bus was now stalled. (Puchika)

My housemates and I scurried up our hill, ashamed that it was us who caused the halt in the bus’s momentum. Halfway up, we glanced back and saw to our surprise that the bus had somehow found a way to revv its engine and, not only make it to the top of the next street, but turn a corner, which, if you know Honduran buses and streets, can be a feat in and of itself. We cheered it on and waved to the rest of the teachers, on their way home.

**Epilogue: The bus was unable to complete its route, but thankfully, the school has a multitude of buses to dispatch and come rescue the broken ones.

Dr. Diaz

One of my teacher friends just got her first pair of contacts down here in Honduras.

When, I heard that the eye exam and eye-ware were cheaper in Honduras than the States, I thought, “It’s my last 2 weeks here, so why not?”

So yesterday, after school, she and I paid a visit to the mall’s resident eye doctor. We had to wait 20 minutes for the doctor to be available, but there was no appointment necessary. Plus, we enjoyed the time comparing prices and trying on different pairs of glasses.

Just as I found the perfect pair, the doctor came out and invited us in. My friend sat by to help translate. Fortunately, I could say the letters/numbers on the screen in English. Turns out, I needed to have taken my contacts out a half hour before the appointment, so I had to say “hasta luego.” Perfect time to hit up the Espresso Americano.

When he returned, he asked me a series of questions, like where am I from, what am I doing here, etc. He scratched his chin: “Oh..you’re Norte Americana.”

Exactamundo. I thought.

He continued. “Mi appellido es Diaz tambien. Pero soy de Espana”

Wait..did he just say his last name is Diaz, too?

We had a good laugh about this commonality, and I have to say gracias to Dr. Diaz for bearing with my Spanish and for the new prescription!

Sin Agua

(Without Water.)

Psalm 63:1
"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."

I took a nap after school today; either I'm getting sick or the last days of school are just wearing on me. When I awoke, I was incredibly thirsty. But, as I walked to the kitchen, I found not only was there no more fresh water, but that our entire water supply in our house had run out! No dirty water either! My housemates and I were incredibly frustrated--so many things we need require water.

But then I stopped and thought about this verse. Thinking about how God provided for the Israelites in the desert, how there are several people in the world who don't have water everyday, especially clean water..I pray that God will give me a grateful heart despite daily upsets or unexpected lacking of what I deem necessity. So, take a minute and pray with me for the world that 1) people can get the water they need, 2) they will thirst after God, like someone in the middle of a dry desert. That God would fill us with His Living Water and be our Oasis, where we can refresh our souls.

Greene Day

(inside joke: our principal's name is Mr. Greene.)

In celebration of God's creation around us and as an encouragement to take care of the world, IST held its annual Green Day program last Friday.

Here's the basics of the day's schedule:

1) climb a mountain
2) have a dog show (yes, a real, live dog show--at school)

Recap (pictures to come):
Imagine taking your 20 students, plus the rest of fourth grade, plus fifth grade, plus the entire middle school, plus all the 9th and 10th graders up a mountain with narrow passes and some of them carrying their dogs, and you will get a glimpse of the chaos that was "summiting the IST peak."

All together, we scaled the slippery slopes; thanks to the help of our bus drivers and Honduran boy scouts who pulled us up onto more solid rocks. However, there was a long stretch of waiting as we all had to pass through this upward maze of mud; where, of course, my class got separated, but that was to be expected. Because students got a prize if they were the first up and down the mountain, several were pushing and shoving their way forward. I had to console a few 4th and 5th graders that they were not going to fall off the side of the cliff, but I motioned them away from the edge, just in case.

As we climbed steadily toward the top, we could look out and see an incredible panorama of the green mountain scenery contrasted with the city below. You could even see the teacher's neighborhood! It was a warm day, the dew condensing into moisture which made the air muggy, and add to our sweat. Several times along the path, I caught students sitting and texting-so ironic on Green Day of all days-so they had be herded along, just like their dogs.

Just when I thought we were almost to the top, I realized we weren't climbing one mountain, but two! We had to go up, over, down, and up again. Ahh...no wonder there was so much sitting.
I even ran into a past student of mine-Vicky! She had left 2nd partial to go to the States, but here she was coming just for Green Day to climb the mountain. It was fun to hear from her and hear how her family was doing; I think she will be back at IST next year.

The craziest thing I saw though, was a 10th grader in front of me, carried his medium-sized, over fluffy dog the entire way up the mountain. Ridiculous. Though seeing the dog show after, made me realize how much fun it is involving the dogs in this day. The dogs competed for speed, obedience, agility (obstacle course complete with hoops and a cart), and looks. It was the most hilarious scene I have ever witnessed at IST.

Finally, it was time to go home. I think everyone had had their share of excitement for the day, yet exhaustion soon set in. We gave worn-out good-byes and greeted the weekend.

The Song in My Heart

Following our weekend at Rockafam, I was inspired to write this song.

It is so far tuneless, so if anyone has ideas for a melody, let me know:

When worry weighs on our shoulders

When discouragement pushes us down

When the bright light of hope falters

Just listen for this sound

A whisper in the flames

The tremors, the disaster

A whisper saying I am here

A cool drink in the desert

The bread of life sustaining

A love that drives out all your fear

When best friends seem to abandon

When rumors cut to your soul

When the loneliness overwhelms the heart

Just remember whose hand you hold

A whisper in the flames

The tremors, the disaster

A whisper saying I am here

A cool drink in the desert

The bread of life sustaining

A love that drives out all your fear

When feeling kind of worthless

Tempted and exhausted

Trying to fill your heart

Ask for His abundance

For His Spirit’s freedom

He’ll give you a brand new start.

Just listen for:

A whisper in the flames

The tremors, the disaster

A whisper saying I am here

A cool drink in the desert

The bread of life sustaining

A love that drives out all your fear

Continuacion

With 21 days of school and 34 days left in Teguc. I felt the need to revisit an old blog post.
In Honduras 1
Only in Honduras 2

You know you're in Honduras when...

*You hear an eagle call as you walk through the grocery store. Don't worry, it's just a way of cheering for the soccer team.
*Cheers erupt throughout the whole mall when a team scores, and everyone stops what they're doing to check the score. You walk through the food court and feel like you're passing through a flash mob where everyone is frozen, mesmerized by the game.
*You can sneak whole restaurant take-out boxes into a movie theater. (F&F5=great movie)
*You can hear the geckos barking (yes, barking) within your walls.
*You open your classroom windows in the morning only to find a bird has decided to perch in the rafters. You don't mind; this is normal.
*Your students would rather play soccer in the blazing sun than go see the new fountain the school put in. NM..your students would rather play soccer, than..pretty much anything.
*Hot day schedule begins, where kids get out an hour earlier because it is so hot.
But on the days you hang laundry out to dry, it pours rain.
*You bond with a Honduran at church through your lack of Spanish skills. But you understood most of the sermon without the translation; though it helped to be seated by someone who's practically bilingual.
*You remember how the first Spanish phrases you began to recognize were:
"levántese" and "y sus pies" and "siéntese" --knowing when to stand and sit in church..haha,
fortunately you can watch people for clues. But watch out for those false-sitters, or pre-empters, who think it's time to sit down after the prayer, but the band still has one more song.

Tomorrow's a field trip to a natural history museum--stay tuned to hear more!

Semana Santa

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a huge deal in Latin America, with the largest celebration being hosted in none other than Antigua, Guatemala. Traveling with three other teachers (Caitlin, Tim, and Hanna), I was able to experience this grand celebration firsthand.

Our journey consisted of visiting three main cities in Guatemala, all leading up to the big finale in Antigua:

Guatemala City (1 night)
Panajachel (2 nights)
Antigua (4 nights)

Saturday
After 15 hours on a bus, including the 2 hours stopped at the Guatemala-El Salvador border, we were more than pleased to have arrived in Guatemala City. Our bus came in at night, but even then we noticed the dramatic contrast between Guat. City and Tegucigalpa.
Comments:
"Wow-there's not trash everywhere"
"Wow-people follow the driving rules"
"Wow-the roads are really smooth"
That to say, we would have been glad to be anywhere, if we were able to stand on solid ground.(that didn't need Dramamine)
Our hostel (Quetzalroo) picked us up from the bus station, which was an extra bonus, and as soon as they showed us our rooms, we were out like the light.



Sunday
Woke up leisurely to find that the shuttle to San Pedro was leaving at 11a, and Tim and Hanna were nowhere to be found. Thankfully, they returned half an hour before the shuttle was supposed to leave. We packed in a rush to hop on the shuttle which, had we known how long it would take to get to Lake Atitlan-a 4 hr trip turned 8 hrs-we would have taken our sweet time.

Our shuttle turned out to be the collectivo-type, and it needed to stop in Antigua to pick up more passengers. Due to several streets being closed for processionals and alfombras, we drove around quite a bit looking for the people we were supposed to pick up. Though it was an unexpected delay, it was a great introduction to the city. We even passed a few churches that had been destroyed in the 1700s by a huge earthquake that hit the area. On our shuttle were Australians, British, North Americans, and Guatemalans. It was fun exchanging travel stories, and I was particularly amazed by the people who were backpacking for 2 months throughout Central America, Mexico, and up to Cuba. Inspiring!



When we did finally arrive in San Pedro, taking a "fast and furious" road to get there, it was evening. A New Mexican couple we had met on our shuttle ride pitched in to help us bribe a local boat driver to take us across the lake to Panajachel, where our hotels were. The dock had closed around 4p, so the sailor opened up the docks just for us crazy N. Americans. We sped across the lake at breakneck speed, the wind whipping our faces. We glimpsed faint outlines of hills and watched as the tiny lights of the shoreside towns flickered and blurred past. Meanwhile, the captain stood at the front of our motorboat with only a flashlight to light the way.

As we neared the shores of Panajachel, we saw sparks of color illuminate the sky. Fireworks!
Hey, they know we're coming! I said jokingly. Though, knowing Latin American celebrations, fireworks could mean the beginning of a town festival or just the birthday of someone special. I called them "Palm Sunday fireworks."

Then, when we arrived ashore, we had no clue where our hotel was, so we went around asking outside the local restaurants: "Donde esta Hotel Utz Jay?" (only we pronounced it: uhtz-jay, uhtz-hay, etc) Finally, we showed a waiter a paper with the hotel name written on it. He read it and said, "Oh....Oootz Hie. Si yo conozco." (thought translation: Oh, silly Americans, you've been pronouncing the hotel name wrong this whole time. Of course I know that hotel.)
We arrived safe and sound at our correct hotel, and collapsed again, exhausted from the extra hours traveling.

Monday
We took a morning/early afternoon boat tour of three towns around Lake Atitlan. We had a completely different perspective seeing the lake in the daylight, but we still boated across just as fast.

1st stop: San Marcos
-conclusion: hippie-like/new age minded town
-asked a 10-year old boy named Gabriel to be our tour guide; gained good insight into living there, heard our first words of Kachiquel (one of the native Mayan languages spoken)
-saw a bilingual school that was Kachiquel and Spanish
-observed beautiful gardens and their simple lifestyle



2nd stop: San Pedro
-highlight: internet cafe and coffee to go
-explored indoor tourist shops
-avoided hovering shopkeepers
-played with a yard full of puppies
-looked for our British friend

3rd stop: San Antonio Palopo
-conclusion: anything and everything you would ever want to buy from Guatemala
aka. bartering training school
-escaped the market for a sit down lunch at a peaceful restaurant
-invited a fellow traveler (Australian) to have lunch with us
-bought a set of musical instruments and a bag to carry them in
-glad we only had 2 hrs there


Back to Pana..unloaded our treasures, explored Pana's shopping prospects then went to dinner at a place we fell in love with.


Tuesday
Check out was at 1p, shuttle was coming at 4p, so we decided to check out early and walk up to the Nature Preserve.

-highlights: rope bridge in front of a steep waterfall
-saw:
-a Mayan woman cross the rope bridge in heels!
-spider monkeys in the trees (yes, they were eating bananas)
-coffee beans being grown
-4 butterflies in the butterfly garden (dry season)
-unusual plantlife (a flower that looked like a Dr. Seuss hat)
-sprinklers (yes, we ran through them)
-a small stretch of beach (We bottled a sand/water mixture and found volcanic rock floating in it!)
*Besides exploring the ruins in Antigua and seeing the night processional, the Nature Preserve was my favorite part of the Guatemala experience!


Tuesday night/Wednesday
It didn't take half as long to arrive in Antigua as it did to get to Pana., and the alfombras were everywhere. Alfombras are the intricate sawdust carpets that Guatemalans make to line the streets before each Semana Santa procession. Alfombras are extraordinarily beautiful and sometimes take hours to create.


We checked into our hotel, which is run by a servant-hearted family, and felt welcomed right away. Got dinner at a nearby pharmacy/cafe that had their electricity go out while we were there.

Wednesday morning, Tim, Caitlin and I headed to Iglesia y Convento de al Recoleccion (Antigua). Insert history excerpt: "Inaugurated in 1717, it survived just half a century before being ripped apart by the earthquake of 1773. Most walls, a beautiful archway entrance, and a staircase (to nowhere) still stand. Huge chunks of roof and walls lay scattered all around the site."
It was a sight to behold..definitely memorable.

Wednesday afternoon-Thursday--I got food poisoining, so couldn't venture out much.
Though, Thursday morning the rest of the group hiked up the active Volcan Pacaya, climbed in sauna caves, and roasted marshmallows at the top. Missing the volcano hike just means I have to come back :)

Friday
Caitlin and I mapped out a route between all the major sights in Antigua and did a self-guided walking tour of them all. She was the map keeper, and I was in charge of the camera. We made a good team, and, often, we'd just be walking and all of a sudden see something that looked like a ruin.
L: "Hey, what's that?"
C: "I don't know. Let's go see!"
So our directions didn't exactly follow our original route, but it was a good deal of fun "discovering" all day. Not to mention running into our share of Good Friday processionals.



That night we all headed to bed early with the intention of waking before dawn to catch a shuttle to Guat City. Yet, we each received a knock on our doors from the friendly hotel owner telling us, "There's the largest processional tonight. You don't want to miss it."
So we jumped out of bed, threw on our sandals (we were already fully dressed), and walked sleepy-eyed downtown. Mobs of people were already standing there. Some held candles, others digital cameras, and still others plastic, wind-up windmill lights.


You could hear the monks' Latin sing-song from where we were standing, and the crowd waited expectantly. We had a great view, but couldn't move from our spots if we tried to. There were so many people! As the processional float rounded the corner, peoples' jaws dropped open. It was magical. The way the float was lit up, illuminating the detailed scene of worshippers laying palm branches at Jesus' feet as he entered Jerusalem, made it seem like the people in the scene were alive. And our eyes followed them down the street. Soon after, followed 13 more stations of the cross equal in magnificence and powerful in message. My favorite part of the processional was the velvet signs people carried each with words Jesus had said while on the cross, like "My God, why have you forsaken me?" and "Today you will be with me in paradise."



I walked away from the procession with a renewed sense of gratitude for my salvation.

On the bus ride back from Guatemala, I praised God for a wonderful week of vacation and the powerful reminders of Jesus' sacrifice to bring us new life. These verses come to mind:

Ephesians 2:8-9 (Amplified version; I like this version because it makes it clear without a doubt.)

⁸For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (^[c]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

⁹Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

Are we living daily in light of that grace?

Bendiciones

My week has been filled with bendiciones (blessings), especially those of my parents coming to visit me in Tegucigalpa and our special time spent together as they saw and experienced "my world"!

Bendiciones:
-My parents safely came and left Teguc. on the road and on the plane. (thanks for everybody's prayers!!)
-A relaxing stay at a hotel in Tela; pool, beach, balcony, air conditioning
-Bicycling with my dad all around Tela, then walking on the beach
-Joining in a Zumba meets Chepe's dance class onstage
-Watching the sunset while sharing seafood soup (more like seafood surprise!)
-The smiling taxi driver who we found out was a Christian! So fun to connect and hear how God is working in Tela!
-Having my assistant substitute for me so I could have Monday to spend con mis padres.

During the week:
-Unzipping the duffel bags to unpack the deliveries and surprises from home!
*Thanks to the Chases and the Melhams for your encouraging letters!*

-Dinner with my housemates + Dan, then with my Bible Study group
-Team teaching with my Mom about the Mayan bartering system
-Having my Dad super-clean my whiteboard...discovering it is white underneath!
-Competing in an informal IST teachers' Spelling Bee competition
("logarithm"-the only time I wished I'd been a math major...not)
-Saying goodbye but knowing it'll only be 10 weeks until summer :)

1 Peter 4 (Message)
^7-11Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

May we always be filled with that kind of enthusiasm for serving the Lord, wherever He leads us!